


Always There

by MedieavalBeabe



Category: Disney - Fandom, Lady and the Tramp 2
Genre: Humanised Lady and the Tramp 2 fanfic, Other, somewhat dark themes
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-08-01
Updated: 2014-08-01
Packaged: 2018-02-11 09:34:25
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,300
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2063043
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MedieavalBeabe/pseuds/MedieavalBeabe
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A somewhat darker sequel to Another Bella Notte, that sees Ladonna kidnapped by an ex-partner of Jack's, and now Jack, along with Hamish, Travis, and old friends Butch, Dash, Rolf and Peggy, have to rescue her, and find out why she was kidnapped!</p>
            </blockquote>





	Always There

Summer had finally broken, and as Ladonna de Gascon hurried to tie up her hair, she felt a rush of relief filter though her. Being in school was all very well; a good education was a necessity for anyone, her father always said, but it meant that she rarely had time to see her boyfriend, Jack Gray. But now the holidays were finally here and that meant six whole weeks where it could be just the two of them, together. 

Now, her cheeks a little flushed with pleasure, Ladonna twirled in front of her mirror; her blue and white striped dress billowing about as she did so, and clapped her hands together in excitement, feeling like a lovestruck child. Then, slipping on her smartest black shoes, she hurried down the stairs and into the kitchen. 

Benjamin, her little brother who was almost a year old, was sitting in his highchair, holding a spoon and waiting for their mother to place a bowl of baby food in front of him. His face lit up as she came into the room and he held up his arms for her to pick him up. “La!” he exclaimed, his name for his older sister since it had too many syllables in it for him to pronounce properly just yet.

With a smile, Ladonna picked him up and tossed him up to kiss him. “Good morning to you too, Benjamin!”

Her father smiled at them over the top of his paper. “Better put him back now, Ladonna,” he teased. “Can’t have you being imprisoned for starving your baby brother to death by depriving him of his breakfast.”

Ladonna smiled back, although inwardly she wished that he hadn’t made that reference to being “imprisoned.” Last summer, she had been taken into a police cell for questioning after a silly mistake involving someone else’s yard and their chickens, and it had been a rather frightening experience, made a little more so by some roguish boys her own age in the opposite cell. Though they had turned out to be rather friendly in the end, along with a girl named Peggy that she had shared her own cell with and whom had made her feel better. 

And then, of course, there had been all that terror when Jack had been arrested after her Aunt Sarah had mistaken him for a burglar, in spite of Ladonna’s insistence to the contrary. She had been terrified that Jack would be sentenced and locked up before she and her father could reach him. But, with some help from her friends and neighbours, Hamish McHeath and Travis Browne, they had caught up to the police car in time and explained Jack’s innocence. 

Settling her brother back into his highchair, Ladonna whipped her head about, her hair flying, as the doorbell rang suddenly. “I’ll get it!” she cried, eagerly, hurtling through the living room like an overzealous Olympic runner. Pulling open the door she beamed at Jack, dressed in his neatest grey shirt and pressed dark trousers, his jacket slung over one shoulder. Neat as he might look now, Ladonna couldn’t help remembering him as the suave and roguish tramp who had won her heart a year ago. 

“You’re looking radiant this morning,” Jack smiled, drawing her to him with his free arm and kissing her. Ladonna flung her arms around his neck and clung to him like that night he had been arrested. Ordinarily, having been brought up to be a proper young lady by her parents, she would have resisted such displays of public affections, but there was just something about Jack that meant she couldn’t help herself and in her eagerness she didn’t care who was watching. 

“Hey, you never know who might be watching,” Jack teased, finally breaking the kiss. 

With a smile, Ladonna caught his hand and pulled him into the house. “You’re just in time for breakfast,” she replied, weaving her fingers through his and closing the door. 

Jack quickly hung his jacket, deftly, on the coat rack and turned to take her other hand. “Just as well I brought an appetite then, isn’t it?”

Ladonna laughed, softly, as he kissed her again. “I’ve been looking forward to this all year,” she told him. “Six whole weeks of just you and me.”

“And it’s going to be just perfect,” Jack promised, brushing a stray strand of hair out of her eyes and pressing one more kiss to her lips before allowing her to lead him into the kitchen. 

“Hello, Jack,” smiled Mama, placing two large plates of pancakes on the table. “I hope you’re hungry.”

Jack smiled, politely, as Papa shook his hand. “Yes, indeed, Mrs de Gascon.”

Ladonna smiled again as they sat down together at the table. She was glad that her parents had taken to Jack so easily; the thought of them not approving of the boy she loved was an awful one. But Jack had won them over just as easily as he had done with her. Albeit, at first she had worried that his intentions with her might not be entirely honourable, but gradually she had learned that his feelings for her with as genuine as hers for him. 

“So, anything interesting happened at Tony’s lately?” Papa asked, joining the breakfasting as his wife finally joined them at the table. 

“Well, Luigi tried a new sauce recipe last night,” Jack replied, “and it probably would have been quite tasty if he’d watched the pot. As it was, there was a bit of, well, a sauce explosion and whole kitchen got splattered in the stuff. Thankfully there was no one in the kitchen at the time, so no one got scalded or anything, but the kitchen’s going to need a whole new paint job.”

Ladonna giggled. “I’ll bet Tony wasn’t happy about that!”

“Her certainly wasn’t,” Jack replied, eating a mouthful of pancakes before continuing. “He said that if it weren’t for the fact that Luigi’s the best chef he knows of, he would have fired him on the spot.”

Mama smiled. “Oh dear.”

“Still, it should be done this time in two weeks, so that’s good,” Jack added.

Ladonna glanced at him. “What’s happening in two weeks?”

Jack smiled. “Something special. You’ll know on the day.”

Ladonna fixed him with a look of mock indignance. “Jack Gray, are you keeping secrets from me?”

“It’s a surprise,” Jack replied, reaching over to squeeze her fingers. 

Ladonna looked into his eyes and, trusting him, squeezed his hand back. 

“Hello, Jack!” called Travis as they stepped out of the door, breakfast over, and into the warm summer air. 

“Hey,” Jack replied, pleasantly as Hamish and Travis came up to them.

“Goin’ out?” asked Hamish, hands in pockets.

Ladonna smiled as she tucked her arm through Jack’s. “Yes, Hamish, and unfortunately for you, it’s an outing just for two.”

Hamish laughed. “Just be careful, alright? We heard just now from Mrs Simons – the local gossip,” he added for Jack’s benefit, “that there’ve been some people in the park acting a bit suspiciously, so keep your guards up.”

“Suspiciously how?” Ladonna asked. 

“Just hanging around and watching people,” Travis put in. “Weird.”

“Probably pickpockets,” Hamish added. “So watch yourselves.”

Jack grinned. “Trust me, Hamish; I’ve had worse. Ladonna’s in safe hands when she’s with me, don’t worry.”

“Oh, I don’t doubt that,” Hamish replied. “But, be careful all the same.”

“We will,” Ladonna promised before she and Jack stepped off the porch, leaving Hamish and Travis waving after them. She pressed closer to Jack. “I don’t like the sound of that.”

Jack glanced at her. “You don’t need to be afraid, Ladonna. You’ll be with me.”

She smiled. “I’m never afraid when I’m with you, Jack.”

In spite of Hamish’s warnings, however, they saw no sign of those strange “pickpockets” at all, although Jack kept an eye out for them just in case. He had a funny feeling that they might just turn out to be people he knew, from his days living on the streets. But they saw nothing of them and soon forgot that Hamish had ever mentioned them. 

They passed the day walking through the park, and alongside the river, hand in hand, talking, and laughing, and everyone who passed them was stunned at the sight of two young people so much in love. Ladonna wondered if they classed them as a Lady and a Tramp respectively, and she hoped that they kept their personal opinions about such a relationship between two people of completely different backgrounds to themselves. 

“Jack?” she said, presently.

“Yes?”

She stopped, curling her fingers around his hands. “You don’t ever worry that you’re not good enough for me, do you?”

Jack took a deep breath. “I did in the beginning. But I stopped worrying about it a long time ago.”

“Well, you shouldn’t.” She looked up at him, her eyes innocent and concerned. “I love you no matter what.”

Jack smiled and pulled her close. “And I love you, Ladonna.”

She closed her eyes as he kissed her, wrapping her arms around him and feeling another rush of love for him. “Can’t you even give me a hint about this surprise in two weeks?” she asked, softly.

Jack grinned. “If I did that, you’d guess and it wouldn’t be a surprise.”

“I’d still act surprised,” she insisted.

He laughed. “Sorry, but you’re just going to have to wait.”

She smiled, a smile of defeat, as they walked along again, hand in hand. “It was worth a try.”

As the days passed, Ladonna found herself getting more and more excited for the surprise, wondering what it could be. When the day in question finally rolled around, however, it was early evening before Jack called for her. 

“It’ll be dinner for three in your house tonight,” he informed her. “I’m taking you out.”

Ladonna was surprised. Not that she didn’t enjoy being out with Jack, but she couldn’t help wondering why he had left it this long to take her to dinner. Nevertheless, she informed her parents what was happening, and, after Jack had reassured them that he would see her home at a reasonable hour, the two of them set off. 

“So, where are we going?” she asked, brightly. “Can you at least tell me that?”

“See if you can guess,” Jack teased. 

“Oh, Jack, you know I hate guessing,” Ladonna replied, sliding her arm through his. 

“Well, it’s somewhere we both like; and somewhere that’s a bit special, especially tonight. And it’s going to be perfect.”

“Jack, put me out of my misery. What exactly is so special about tonight?”

“You’ll see.”

Eventually, to Ladonna’s surprise, they turned down the street where Tony’s was situated. She frowned. “Sorry; am I missing something here?”

Jack turned to her with a grin. “And still she doesn’t see it; when it’s staring her in the face. Come on.”

He led her around the back of the restaurant. To Ladonna’s surprise, a table topped with a candelabra, a basket of bread and a bottle of wine, and two chairs were already set out by the back door and Tony was standing waiting for them. 

“Buonasera!” he greeted them, grasping Ladonna’s hand in both of his own. “It is so good-a to see you again, bella Ladonna! Jack, you are-a very wicked to keep her-a from us so long! Please-a, be seated!”

Ladonna took in the table and then, finally, she realised why tonight was so special. She accepted her seat and, as Jack sat down beside her, Tony clapped his hands to Luigi in the kitchen. “Hey-a, Luigi! Have you not-a finished the spaghetti and meatballs yet?”

“It’s a-coming, it’s a-coming!” came the reply, along with a tired utterance of “Mamma Mia!”

Ladonna turned to Jack with a smile. “Our first date.”

“Yep!” Jack returned her smile. “Happy Anniversary.”

“Here you are,” smiled Tony, placing the sharing platter and two glasses in front of them, along with cutlery. 

“The best spaghetti in town,” Ladonna and Jack chorused, with a laugh.

Tony grinned. “How did-a you guess? Ah, amore!” he added, drifting into the kitchen. 

The second he was gone, Ladonna leaned forward and pulled Jack towards her for a kiss. “Hey,” Jack teased, “we haven’t even gotten onto the spaghetti yet.”

She smiled at him. “You’re so romantic. I’d completely forgotten that it was a year ago today we did this for the first time.”

“Yep.” Jack squeezed her hands. “Our first date, and our first kiss.”

“The most romantic night of my entire life,” Ladonna added. 

“Well, we’ll try and make this one live up to it,” Jack replied, smiling as Tony and Luigi came out with their accordion and ukulele.

“Oh, this is the night,” Tony sang, “it’s a beautiful night; and we call it bella notte...”

None of them noticed that they were being watched. A little way around the corner, three figures were peering around at the scene. The first was a burly boy with slicked back dark hair and a square jaw, dressed all in black. The second was a thin, wiry girl with a tough face and red straggly hair; and the third was small, squat boy with a piggish face and slightly pointed ears. Al three were watching Ladonna and Jack closely.

“So that’s why he ditched us,” sneered the burly boy. “I should’ve known!”

“Looks like he’s serious about this one, Buster,” the girl says.

“Hm. We’ll see about that. Come on, before they see us.”

Blissfully unaware of what was happening, Ladonna moved closer to Jack and lay her head on his shoulder. Jack, turning to look at her, smiled and kissed the top of her head, curling his fingers about hers. He had promised that it would be perfect. And it was. Absolutely perfect.


End file.
